Mourinho boasts 'After God, me'

EITHER HE IS putting on a sensational act to camouflage a deeply sensitive and shrewd mind, or José Mourinho really is the most self-adoring person ever to set foot in the English Premiership.

A handful of days into his new job at Stamford Bridge - before he had even met half of his playing staff or polished the composition of his squad with what is expected to be another delve into the transfer market - the Portuguese coach was looking confidently beyond his three-year deal: 'I think at the end of my contract the club will be interested in giving me a new one.' Does he want to stay for the long haul? 'Sure.'

The demands of the British game hold no fear. 'If I lose a lot of matches and don't reach the objectives we have, there is a risk I won't finish my contract. Maybe they will sack me. But I don't believe that will be the case. As for a heart attack? I don't think so.

'I am not worried about pressure. If I wanted to have an easy job, working with the big protection of what I have already done before, I would have stayed at Porto - beautiful blue chair, the Uefa Champions League trophy, God, and after God, me. If I stayed there and lost 10 matches and didn't win another Champions League people would still trust me and think I am the best.'

Mourinho evidently has no difficulties in convincing himself of his worth. Now the players have to convince him of theirs. Eidur Gudjohnsen is top of the class at the moment - 'He's better than I previously thought and I believe that the specifics of our work can improve him a lot,' enthused Mourinho - while Adrian Mutu has emerged from discussions with a new chance to prove himself. Hernán Crespo, however, looks to be on the move. The Argentine, signed last summer for £16.8 million, made a terrible impression by arriving late for the first day of pre-season.

He has responded well to clear-the-air negotiations but further talks this week are likely to see him on his way, with Marseille's Ivory Coast hitman Didier Drogba ushered in alongside the talented young Serb Mateja Kezman. 'Drogba is one of the best strikers in Europe,' said Mourinho. 'Since my team played against him I started looking at him with different eyes and I felt he needed a better club and a better league to show how good he really is. He can become a good option if in the next days we decide Hernán's future is away from Chelsea.

'We have talked very openly. I told him about the football style I wanted to play, about the qualities of the players, about Kezman, about the rapport I'm feeling with Eidur and a few names - not just Drogba - we are preparing if he decides to go. I told him if you don't stay, it's not a drama for me because I have solutions, and if you stay, you are exactly the same as the other players.'